


A Stark Christmas Dinner

by littledragon94



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Christmas Dinner, F/F, F/M, Family, Fluff, Gen, House Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-08 00:25:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5476163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littledragon94/pseuds/littledragon94
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Stark's have a tradition: each year, two weeks before Christmas, they have a family dinner with plus ones.</p><p>based on the prompt: “Stark family: all the Stark kids bring their significant others to dinner”</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Stark Christmas Dinner

‘It’ll be a cramped dinner tonight, love,’ Catelyn informed her husband as she checked the turkey roasting in the oven. ‘Fourteen! We’ll have to get the extra chairs out of the shed.’

Ned stuck his head around the kitchen door. ‘Fourteen? We’ve only got six kids,’ he protested.

‘It’s the pre-Christmas meal, remember?’

Ned grunted. ‘I swear Christmas keeps getting earlier and earlier each year.’

It was a Stark family tradition that two weeks before Christmas they held a large dinner where their children could invite a guest of their choice. They rarely had a full complement of guests as it was a lot of hassle for some to get to the Stark’s house in Winterfell, but this year all those invited had accepted the invitation to stay the night, and as a result, Cat had more mouths than she was used to feeding.

‘Who’s coming over then?’ Ned asked, fumbling for placemats to set the table. ‘Anyone we’ve had before?’

‘Oh, the kids don’t tell me anything these days,’ Cat sighed with a wave of her kitten-patterned tea towel (a gift from Ned, several Christmases ago). ‘Rickon said he had asked a friend from school - one of the Mormont girls, I think.’

Ned nodded. The Mormont girls were a good bunch - a little wild - but a good bunch. Robb had brought the eldest, Dacey, over two years ago.

‘Bran’s guest is vegetarian, he told me. So it’s probably Jojen.’ Cat checked on the nut roast as she recalled.

‘Or Meera. He has a crush on her, I think,’ Ned mused.

‘She’s Robb’s age!’ Catelyn gasped, prodding potatoes. ‘Besides, I doubt she would reciprocate his feelings; she’s very mature.’

‘All the Reeds are,’ Ned agreed. Meera and Jojen’s father, Howland, was one of Ned’s oldest friends. His children had inherited both his short stature and his wisdom. ‘What about the others? Friends from university, I suppose?’

‘Probably,’ Catelyn checked her watch. ‘They’ll be back soon. I told them to bring their guests over at six.’

‘I’ll get those chairs from the shed,’ Ned announced, placing the last of the cutlery down on the table. He gave his wife a peck on the cheek as he passed her on his way to the back door. Cat heard him shooing the dogs away from the door on his way out; they all wanted the food that was starting to fill up the house with its mouth-watering scent.

Everything was just about ready when the clock above the mantlepiece struck six. The table was set with crackers and festive napkins too. All the food was keeping warm in the low heat of the oven, and the trifle was setting in the fridge. Cat had just poured herself a well-deserved glass of mulled wine when the doorbell rang.

‘Ned! Guests!’ she called, brushing down the front of her blouse and rushing to the front door. Ned appeared at her side just as she opened the door.

‘Merry Christmas!’ they chimed, their greeting routine and well rehearsed.

‘You two are so embarrassing,’ Bran grumbled, wiping his feet as he stepped into the warm house, his cheeks tinged pink from the winter chill outside. He was closely followed by his younger brother, Rickon.

‘This is Lyra,’ Rickon announced, gesturing to the little girl beside him. ‘She’s in my class.’

‘Hello, Lyra,’ Cat smiled. ‘Come on in, dinner’s nearly ready.’

The two young faces split into excited gap-toothed grins.

‘Come on, Lyra,’ Rickon insisted, speeding down the hall. ‘I’ll show you my room.’ Lyra followed him, dark brown pigtails bouncing as she ran.

‘Hello, Jojen,’ Ned greeted, gesturing for the last occupant of their doormat to come in.

‘Merry Christmas, Mr and Mrs Stark,’ Jojen returned, stepping to the side of the hallway and reaching into a pocket of his ridiculously thick parka (yet somehow he still managed to look cold). ‘Thank you for having me, this is from my parents.’ He produced a Christmas card and handed it to Ned.

‘You’re very welcome, Jojen,’ Cat smiled, shutting the front door.

‘Hey Jo,’ Bran called from the stairs. ‘Do you want to put your bag in my room?’

Jojen excused himself and followed Bran up the stairs to his room.

‘Such a polite boy,’ Cat mused, reading the card in Ned’s hands over his shoulder. ‘Put it on the mantlepiece with the other cards.’

The mantlepiece and windowsills of the Stark living room were covered in Christmas cards of various sizes and qualities. From the tiny multipack selection from Cat’s sister, Lysa, to the glossy personalised greeting from Ned’s colleague, Wyman Manderly.

Cat was about to call up the stairs to ask if anyone wanted a drink when the next guests arrived. This time it was Ned’s nephew, Jon, and a red-headed girl.

‘Merry Christmas!’ Ned and Cat chorused.

‘Merry Christmas,’ Jon returned. ‘Uncle Ned, Aunt Catelyn, this is my girlfriend, Ygritte.’

‘Lovely to meet you, Ygritte,’ Cat welcomed.

‘Jon’s told me all about yous two.’ Ygritte smiled. Her Northern accent was even stronger than Ned’s and it took Cat a moment to understand her.

‘Well come on in, would you like a drink?’

‘I’ll show you to the kitchen,’ Ned offered his nephew and his new girlfriend. ‘How long have you two been dating?’

Cat checked her appearance in the hallway mirror before heading upstairs to repeat her offer of drinks to the younger Starks and their guests. Though Jon was Ned’s nephew and had lived with them since he was only a few months old, Cat had never treated him as a son, and their relationship was a little strained.

The next guests arrived as Cat finished delivering warm ribenas and hot chocolates up the stairs. Ned left Jon and Ygritte in the festively decorated lounge.

‘Merry Christmas!’ They beamed, wrenching the door open to reveal their youngest daughter, Arya, and a tall muscular man. Ned and Cat stared, their smiles becoming fixed.

‘Oh my Gods, Dad, what is that jumper?’ Arya looked appalled.

Ned pulled his gaze away from the beefcake at his daughter’s side to his seasonal reindeer jumper, complete with bells.

‘It’s Christmassy,’ he defended.

Catelyn coughed pointedly. ‘Introductions, Arya?’

Arya blinked, brushing her short mousy hair behind an ear with a gloved hand. ‘Right, Mum and Dad, this is my boyfriend, Gendry,’ she said quickly. ‘Gendry, Mum and Dad.’

‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr and Mrs Stark,’ Gendry began, holding out a large calloused hand to shake.

Arya slapped the hand away and tugged Gendry into the house. ‘Yes, yes, come on.’ She dragged him through the hallway door and into the lounge, leaving Ned and Cat hovering by the front door.

‘He’s very big,’ Cat commented. Ned made a noise somewhere between a grunt and a whimper.

The doorbell rang again and their gracious host faces were back in place.

‘Merry Christmas!’ they sang. This time it was their eldest daughter, Sansa, and a shorter brunette girl.

Sansa looked terribly nervous as she returned their greeting. Stepping into the house, she took the (very pretty, Cat noted) brunette’s hand.

‘Mum, Dad, this is Margaery. My girlfriend.’

‘It’s lovely to meet you, Mr and Mrs Stark,’ Margaery smiled.

Ned and Cat just kind of stood there with their mouths open for a moment before Cat’s automatic hosting mechanism kicked in.

‘You too, Margaery. Help yourselves to a drink in the kitchen; we have mulled wine! The others are in the lounge.’

Sansa’s nerves vanished from her face as she beamed at her parents and led Margaery off to the lounge.

Ned let out a noise that sounded something like a winded bear. ‘Did that just happen?’

‘Arya’s boyfriend is six-foot of brawn and Sansa has a girlfriend,’ Cat put a hand to her forehead. ‘Why can’t they tell us these things in advance?’

‘I wonder who Robb will bring,’ Ned grumbled.

‘I’ll put the food out on the table. He shouldn’t be long,’ Cat announced, breaking out of her daze. ‘You go entertain the kids and their guests.’

The doorbell rang for the fifth and final time just as Cat drained the vegetables.

‘Ned, Robb’s here!’

They positioned themselves in the doorway. ‘Merry Christmas!’

The eldest Stark child had his arm hooked around his thin, mousy guest’s waist. ‘Merry Christmas, Mum, Dad. I’d like you to meet my girlfriend, Jeyne.’

Inwardly sighing with relief that Robb’s guest wasn’t some sort of shock, Cat ushered them into the lounge while Ned offered drinks.

‘Dinner will be served in five minutes,’ she called over the chattering of the lounge. ‘Come and grab a seat!’

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm not sure if I should leave this as a one-shot or make it a two-parter. What do you think?


End file.
